


Still Beautiful to Me

by RKG



Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon), Tangled (2010)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-14
Updated: 2020-09-14
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:42:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,743
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26454340
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RKG/pseuds/RKG
Summary: The story of how Cass actually did try to attend Rapunzel's wedding.
Relationships: Cassandra/Varian (Disney: Tangled)
Comments: 16
Kudos: 39





	Still Beautiful to Me

**Author's Note:**

> This follow's the show's timeline, so it's a year to a year and a half after Cassandra left on her journey away from Corona. I imagine even if she did come back, and there were warm feelings between her and Rapunzel, things are not going to be fixed automatically. That's not the way life works, and that's not the way Cassandra works. Also, Varian may just be the shadiest bitch in Corona _but let's face it we all knew that_. ;)

Cassandra never thought in a million years ghat she would receive an invitation to Rapunzel's wedding after the way things were left between them. But somehow this little slip of paper had found her, even far away on her travels. Of course Cassandra toyed with the idea of not showing up, it's not like she would have been missed in Corona after the damage that she had done, but Rapunzel had always been the fair sort and this invitation proved it. She wiped her tears at the gesture and got back on Fidella and simply turned around from her destination. She wasn't that far away anyway and she did want to see her Dad again, after all he had said that he was getting bored sitting in retirement and had a good idea to go and whip Fitzherbert into shape. She kind of wanted to be there for the look on Eugene's face when her Dad showed up to do it after all. 

As she rode back into Corona she suddenly felt self-conscious. What if people would talk and think she was there to cause trouble again? Certainly they must know that she would be coming in for the Princess's wedding. Either way she made sure to walk Fidella back into Corona as slowly as possible so that she wouldn't be noticed. She also pulled the hood of her green cloak up so that nothing really showed about her face. Fortunately, Stan and Pete recognized her and let her inside the castle walls. Some things had changed since she left but not much. Rapunzel had taken to painting the castle walls themselves in celebration for her wedding. Cass smiled, the Princess always did her best work when she was happy, and from the paintings on the walls you could tell she was _very_ happy. 

"CASS!!!" she heard Rapunzel yell from across the castle yard, of course Rapunzel would recognize her even when she was trying her best to be incognito. That's just who Rapunzel was. Cass smiled wanly as her friend darted across the grounds as fast as her bare feet could carry her and e enveloped her in a hug. Cass was shocked at the gesture but tried her best not to show it. 

“H-Hey Raps.” she hated the way her voice betrayed her.

“I missed you!” said Rapunzel. “You’re just in time! We have so much to do for the wedding!”

“We--what?”

“The wedding, you know, I’m getting married to Eugene?”

“I know but _we_?”

“You don’t think I’d leave my best friend out, do you?” 

“ _I’m still your best friend_?” thought Cassandra, really unsure if she had been forgiven or not.

“I… didn’t know.” she said at length. 

“Of course not! Come on, let’s get you inside, you have to tell me everything you’ve seen so far!” 

Cassandra had seen a lot of things, but all of them were dangerous and scary, and she hadn’t really planned on telling Rapunzel about any of it because she was afraid that word would get around to her Dad, and then her Dad would demand she come home. But as frightening and dangerous as life on the road was, Cass wasn’t yet ready to give it up. She had felt trapped in Corona all her life, and right now, she was glad that at the end of this wedding, she was going to get back to it. 

~*~*~*~

Later when Rapunzel had finished showing her all of the things that she had put in place for the wedding, she asked.

“ _So, is there a special guy in your life_?”

Cassandra rolled her eyes, shaking her head. “Nah Raps, you know me, I fly solo.” 

“I just wondered.” said Rapunzel. 

What she didn’t tell her was that after the incident at the great tree, Cass had decided that she would _never_ try dating ever again. She hadn’t told anyone, but after the incident with her hand, she had felt completely disfigured. She never talked about it, and she didn’t want to talk about it. She never told anyone how she always wore gloves now, how she avoided touching anyone with her right hand, and sometimes how she would sob hysterically at the sight of her burnt hand upon waking up. It ached some days, but she never told anyone. 

She never told anyone because if she did, she would have to explain the whole Zhan Tiri mess to them, and since everyone was essentially on Rapunzel’s side in this, they would just tell her that it was her own fault, even when she had essentially done the same thing Adira did to try and snap Rapunzel out of an eternal hurt enchantment, and it was long before any involvement with any kind of demonic force. Part of her wanted to cry and scream about how unfair it was, but what good would it do? The pool was already poisoned against her, Rapunzel was royalty, she was supposed to have been her loyal guard and she turned against her. She was lucky she hadn’t received the gallows. 

“Nope. There’s been nobody.” 

“I mean, come on Blondie, snake charmers only live in India.” joked Eugene, who had come strolling up. 

“Oh, can it, Fitzherbert!” cried Cass. 

“Be nice, Eugene.” cautioned Rapunzel.

Cass smirked. Sometimes out on the road when she was in a particuarly dangerous jam she’d imagine what one of the gang had to say, and Eugene always seemed to be the one to utter the zingers. He didn’t disappoint this day either. Suddenly, a bear hug out of nowhere surprised her, it was her Dad! 

“Hey Dad!” she giggled, almost turning into a little girl again.

“Hey there.” he smiled at her with tired eyes. She could tell that there had been many sleepless night since she had left Corona. It would feel good to be back home again with her Dad, maybe they could even do something together while she was there. That sounded good. 

“I missed you, Dad.” she whispered as she hugged him.

He stroked the back of her head tenderly as if to say he missed her too. Of course he wasn’t that open with his feelings, but Cass knew exactly what that gentle touch of her hair meant.

“Come on, we have a banquet prepared!” 

It was 3 days until the wedding, of course they did.

~*~*~*~

The first night had been a blur, after the banquet Cass and her Dad had gone home and they had had the same conversation that they always did when they got home in the evenings. It was almost as if she had never left, Finally, at long last her Dad asked in a small voice.

“Do you ever think about coming back?”

Cass looked down. “Not yet, Dad.” 

“Cassandra, I’m not getting any younger. I’d like to know that you’re safe before nature takes its course.”

Cass bit her lip. Like any other child, she had never thought about the possibility of her Dad leaving the earth. Even the times when he was wounded, it never registered with her. He couldn’t be done just yet. 

“Just a little while longer, Dad. Please? I promise I’ll come home.. just… not now.”

While no one at the banquet had said anything, there were a few funny looks that she got at the table. Nigel had given her a wide berth when he was announcing the other royal guests, and there were definitely some whispers. Thankfully, this was just a banquet and not a royal ball. If it had indeed been a royal ball she was pretty sure that she would have been shunned. 

The next day, Cass found out just how much so.

As per usual, Rapunzel had an entire wedding itinerary for all of her bridesmaids. After doing these absolutely _mundane_ wedding related activities, it was time to be fitted for their bridesmaids outfits. Willow looked extremely good in hers, then came Faith, whom she was surprised was even a Bridesmaid but she guessed that the younger maid had took over the position that she had left. 

“Your turn, Cass!” smiled Rapunzel.

Cass expected hers to be a little altered, after all, it’s not like she could wear short sleeves like these gowns were. 

But there it was.

Short sleeves.

“Uh… Raps? Aren’t you forgetting something?” reminded Cass, as politely as she could. 

“Forgetting what?” Rapunzel seemed to have no idea what she was talking about.

“I.. I can’t wear this.” said Cass, shaking her head. 

“Why not? It’s your size.” 

“That… that’s not it.” said Cass, handing the dress back to the dressmaker. “I-I can’t… I can’t wear this. I-I can’t be here.” 

Rapunzel frowned as her best friend started to flee, how dare she cut out on her on the most important day of her life! 

“Cassandra, wait--”

“On _what_ , Rapunzel?! On you to _finally_ get a clue?!” Cassandra finally snapped.

Rapunzel’s eyes narrowed. “What did you say?”

“You _know_ why I can’t wear this dress!” cried Cass.

“Why? Because you can’t be bothered to be a supportive friend on my wedding day?!” 

Cass choked back a sob and then took off her glove. “ _BECAUSE OF THIS_!”

The other would-be bridesmaids shrank back in horror.

Rapunzel gasped, she had forgotten all about Cass’s hand.

“Do you think that that healed itself when you took out the moonstone? NO! I have that, as well as a big, white, ugly scar where the moonstone was in my chest. I can’t wear short sleeves or anything with a low-cut neckline, Raps! But I guess you forgot that because you _forgot that_ you caused this as well! And this was long, _long_ before I betrayed you.” Cassandra finished with a sob. “ _Ask me again why I can’t wear this dress_!”

Rapunzel watched helplessly as Cassandra fled.

~*~*~*~

Varian was busy setting up the fireworks that were meant to be set off after the wedding celebration. He had just gone into town for more gunpowder and was on his way back when he heard sobbing coming from the castle gardens. He parked the cart in a place where he knew Lance couldn’t get to it, along with a note that said “ _Lance, if you’re reading this. This cart is loaded with gunpowder. DON’T TOUCH IT_!!!” and hoped that would suffice before he went to find the source of the sobs. 

He expected to find one of the handmaidens, maybe Arianna or perhaps Willow, but instead he saw… Cassandra? That couldn’t be right, Cassandra was traveling. She wasn’t back in Corona, was she? But she was, and right now she was sobbing her heart out deep in the castle garden. It had to be bad for Cass to cry because she almost never did, in fact… he was pretty sure in the entire time he had known her she had _never_ cried. 

“Cassie?” he asked.

Immediately, Cass stopped crying.

“What do you want?” she tried to brush it all off, like she just hadn’t been crying like somebody died but the thickness and the wobble in her voice gave it all away.

“What’s wrong, Cassie?”

She didn’t know what it was about the way he asked the question, but something told her that it was okay to open up to him, so open up she did. 

“Why is that it’s okay for her to _forget what she did to me_!” cried Cass in anguish. “Why does she get to sweep everything under the rug but I have to live with the fact that she was the one that betrayed _me first_ every day?! And that was before I even started talking to Zhan Tiri!” 

“Whoa, whoa, slow down… uh… context, please?”

After Cass finished explaining what had happened at the Great Tree, Varian suddenly had a clearer picture of why Cassandra might make the choices she did. 

“She gets to prance down the aisle and be absolutely _beautiful_ for Prince Flunkie himself, but me? I’ll _never_ get that chance. I’ll never be _beautiful_ again.” 

Varian gasped. That’s why she was crying. Rapunzel had conveniently forgotten her role in all of this. He could sympathize, after all, the first science award he had received from Corona had been carved from _amber_ , which Rapunzel had commissioned. The conversation with his Father had been a little awkward.

“ _Did she just_ …?”

“ _Yup_.” 

“ _She does know I was encased in amber for over a year, right_?”

“ _Yup_.” 

“ _Did she forget? Did you use some of that Saporian memory stuff on her_?”

“ _Nope. That’s just what she does_.” Varian had replied.

Quirin had facepalmed. “ _That girl’s just like Frederick_.”

But they had decided there was nothing to be done about it, after all, Rapunzel was royal and they were just subjects at the end of the day. But Cass, he had thought, was different. He had heard the way that Rapunzel talked about her and thought that she truly did consider her like a sister. Then again she had once said that Varian was like the little brother that she never had and yet she had still opted to give him an amber carved science award even after everything that he had been through.

" _Funny way of treating family_." he thought. 

"The one time… I tried talking to this one guy… h-he was an archer for a neighboring Kingdom. I thought… I thought he'd be okay with it… h-he was a soldier he said he had seen horrible battle wounds before so I showed him… he screamed and ran away and said I was cursed." Cass broke down anew upon this admission. 

The part of Varian that still had feelings for Cassandra seethed with rage. "He's crazy!" He scoffed.

"Is he?" she hiccuped.

Upon seeing Cass so broken, so vulnerable, the compassionate side of Varian won out. He took her right hand, burned and leathery though it was, gazed into her eyes and kissed it softly. 

"You're still beautiful to me, milady."

Cass blushed before sobbing into his chest. He sat there for a few moments, stroking her hand, resting his head on hers, allowing her to cry. Cassandra hadn't actually realized how much she needed this moment, to just let out what she had been feeling, and for someone to just tell her that it was okay to be sad and angry over what happened to her, even if they didn't say it with words.

"Th-Thank you, Varian." she shuddered.

"Believe it or not, I know a little bit about not getting your due with her. I mean, my first scientific award was made out of amber, after all."

Cass gazed at him in horror.

"You're kidding."

"Nope. Me and Dad keep it on the mantle right under the dart board. According to Dad that was the only place that really _complimented_ it, you know?"

Cass sputtered and then burst into a peal of laughter. This is exactly the kind of shady thing that she would expect from Varian, and she didn't realize that right then, it was just what she needed, someone who, for once, was on her side. 

"I made a complete fool of myself." sighed Cass. "I can't go through with this, Varian. I can't be happy for her, not right now, it's too soon, I--"

"I know."

"I have to leave." she sniffled. Though truth be told, she was a little torn about the whole thing. She had wanted to stay in Corona for awhile with her Dad, but she knew he would make her go to that wedding… and right now she just couldn't. 

"I understand, Cassie." he said softly.

"I didn't know it would do this to me… honestly."

"I'm doing the fireworks but I won't be at the wedding. I've trained a few guys under me to handle that for me. Truth be told I don't really feel much like celebrating either. Besides, I have to help my Dad with the pumpkin harvest."

Cass smiled.

"You still have time for that on top of being the royal engineer?"

"I make time. Dad needs me."

She lay her head on his shoulder. "I wish I could stay with Dad for awhile… or he could come along with me." she sniffled. 

"He can't?"

"More like won't. Royal duty and all." She rolled her eyes.

"You know, my Dad has a saying. The only thing you have to do in life is die. The rest is choices."

Cass blinked.

"Royal or not, Rapunzel needs to learn that not everything is going to go her way."

"Why Varian, are you encouraging me to skip out on the royal wedding? Sounds positively treasonous."

"Wouldn't be my first time betraying a Kingdom." he grinned. 

"Me either."

~*~*~*~

It was the day before the wedding, Rapunzel had so much planned - but she couldn’t find Cass. 

“Where could she be, she’s one of the bridesmaids! She’s supposed to be here!” she cried.

As she was dashing through the halls, she ran into the royal engineer. 

“Oh, hi Varian, have you seen Cass?” 

“I did yesterday.” 

Rapunzel nodded. “I thought you might, look, we had a… disagreement, but I can’t find her and I _need_ her, she’s one of my bridemaids, she has to be at my wedding!” 

“Um.. about that.” Varian began.

Rapunzel didn’t like the tone he was taking.

“Varian, what is it?”

“She asked me to give you this.” He handed her an envelope, which Rapunzel immediately ripped open as if her life depended on it.

“ _Hey Raps,_

_Look, I know you wanted me to be there for your wedding and… maybe if things were different, I could be. But right now, I can’t sit there and force a smile on my face and watch you look beautiful and perfect while every time I look down… I see what you did to me. My hand stopped hurting long ago, but… I guess you could say my heart didn’t. I still see, and feel what you did to me every day and right now… it’s too soon._

_I have a lasting scar on my hand, I have a mark that will never heal. Something that I will always have to explain to everyone I meet that ever sees me without gloves. My right hand will always be my connection to you and what happened with you. I will never be able to escape it. I have physical reminders of the time when you betrayed me, and maybe you didn’t mean to Raps… but that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t hurt._

_So, I’m sorry if I can’t make it to your wedding. I don’t hate you… I’m just not over it, and I’m not sure, right now, if even an apology would help things. So… I’ll be in touch… I’ll leave this here because you seem to enjoy leaving things hanging. I’m not being mean, I’m being honest, Raps… if I have one bit of advice to give you, it’s that maybe as Queen, fix that._

_-Cass_ ”

Rapunzel sat down in a heap… she hadn’t expected to read those words from her best friend, especially not today. But slowly she realized that Cass had every reason to be mad at her, at least over her hand. She realized the bridesmaids dress was the straw that really broke the already fragile camel’s back, that’s when she began to cry.

Varian was going to say something, but thankfully Willow saw what went down and moved in instead. 

“Sweetie, what’s wrong?”

Varian took that as his cue to move. Truth be told, he didn’t exactly blame Cass for skipping out on the wedding. After all, it’s why he had trained 8 guys on the firework duty, after the year he had spent in the dungeon, without his Dad, yeah he was a little salty. Especially when he found out that during that year, while he had been subjected to hard labor and whatever the other prisoners decided to dole out on ‘the kid’ that day, that Rapunzel had been traveling around the seven kingdoms, all the while his Dad was trapped in amber, his farm getting continually run down. 

Speaking of the farm, he had to go home and help his Dad. He had to make sure that all of the pumpkins were perfect for harvest. After all, this year’s crop would beat last year’s thankfully. Because they had gotten a headstart. When he got there he was surprised to find his Dad wasn’t alone! 

“Cassandra?”

“Hi!” she waved from her spot on a haybale.

“I,,, thought you’d be gone by now.”

“I’m leaving tonight. I thought I’d come by and help you guys with the pumpkins until then.”

Quirin smiled. “She has a knack for it!” 

One last afternoon with Cassandra was all he could have wished for.

~*~*~*~

That night, when Cassandra was about to leave, Varian decided he would help her saddle up Fidella before she left. They had let Fidella out into the pasture while they worked, and the girl was grateful that she got to romp and play. 

“Your Dad makes the _best_ pumpkin pie!” gushed Cassandra. “I wish I could have one for the road, but I’m afraid it wouldn’t travel well.” 

Varian chuckled. “Hmm, you know I could probably invent something to keep it safe.” 

“If you do, write me.” grinned Cass.

“What made you want to spend the day with us?” asked Varian.

“Well, I told my Dad and he… wasn’t happy. He’ll get over it, he thought I was shirking my royal duty and how bad it would make him look but honestly… I can’t worry about it anymore. I’m no longer a handmaiden to the Princess.”

Varian nodded. 

“Also… I wanted to spend it with someone who was on my side for a change.”

“I’m on your side because I know how you feel.” 

Cass hugged him. “I know.” It was just then that she realized that he had gotten taller than her. She was grateful for the fact that it was getting dark, he couldn’t tell how much that made her blush. 

Varian hugged her back, getting a whiff of her hair, it smelled like blackberries. A unique scent that was only hers. It made his heart pang to know she was leaving, but he realized that she had to.. for the sake of her own sanity. 

“Guess I’ll die an old maid… I’ll lose my chance to catch the bouquet.” she joked.

As he hoisted her onto Fidella, he smiled and winked at her. “Never say never, Cassie-baby.”


End file.
